{"id":361,"date":"2012-09-06T18:43:02","date_gmt":"2012-09-06T18:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iamcured.com\/blog\/?p=361"},"modified":"2014-11-14T07:36:54","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T12:36:54","slug":"your-bodys-energy-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iamcured.com\/blog\/your-bodys-energy-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Body’s Energy System"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your Energy System<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"herbs<\/a>The body is an interconnected and a highly intricate network of trillions of cells. One of the many functions of cells is to produce energy for life. For each cell to produce energy, it needs fuel primarily in the form of glucose. The surface of each cell contains docking stations for insulin and glucose. Insulin serves as the “key” which opens cell receptors for glucose to enter.<\/p>\n

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There are other transport vehicles inside the cell called Glucose transporters (Glut). These transport vehicles carry glucose molecules to the mitochondria (the cell’s “furnace”) where the body ultimately uses it to create energy.<\/p>\n

How Problems Begin<\/span><\/h1>\n

As carbohydrates or sugars are absorbed by the intestines after a meal and blood sugar increases, insulin is secreted by the pancreas and circulated throughout the body. As insulin binds to cell receptors, cells absorb glucose from the blood stream to produce energy and lower blood sugar levels. As blood sugar decreases, the pancreas secretes glycagon which breaks down glycogen in the liver and releases additional glucose into the blood.<\/p>\n

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The secretion of insulin is controlled by glucose concentrations in the blood stream.<\/p>\n

Glycemic Index (GI) is a numerical system that rates how fast carbohydrate foods break down into glucose and enter the blood stream. Historically, humans have relied on carbohydrates from natural sources such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and grains which are generally low GI foods which raise blood sugar levels moderately to properly support your energy system for many hours.<\/p>\n

With the advent of preservatives and flavorings in recent times, the food industry has been able produce tasty processed foods with longer shelf lives. Unfortunately many of these popular products (white bread, pretzels, chips, crackers, cookies, cakes, soda) have high GI which cause blood sugar levels to rise very quickly. When blood sugar rises quickly, the level peaks in a short time and then comes crashing down to below normal levels. Since the brain operates on blood sugar, it induces cravings in a short time to force you to eat more and raise blood sugar again. This cycle leads to continuous spiking of blood sugar and abusive release of insulin throughout the day and suppression of glucagon.<\/p>\n

In addition, rapid rises in blood sugar causes significant inflammation to the artery’s vessels lining. When this inflammation spreads to the capillaries (the smallest arteries) of the muscles, the vessels tend to constrict and thicken. This creates a physical barrier making it more difficult for insulin in the blood stream to pass through and allow sugar to get into cells. This is the start of Insulin Resistance which means the body is becoming less sensitive to insulin.<\/p>\n

Metabolic Syndrome<\/span><\/h1>\n

Insulin Resistance when left untreated, eventually leads to Metabolic Syndrome where insulin levels in the blood rise to high sustained levels causing a group of risk factors that lead to following chronic diseases: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.<\/p>\n

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It is believed that there are about 47 million adults in the United States that have Metabolic Syndrome and the numbers are continuing to grow significantly. Metabolic Syndrome does not develop overnight. It comes after years and years of making bad daily dietary choices. You may be at risk of Metabolic Syndrome if:<\/p>\n